What is bad driving?

[sidepod]

Just found this thread and at the risk of causing offence to my fellow Brits, it’s a very British list. The majority of roads on the continent are two not three lane and while you get the occasional offender, lane discipline is very good and everyone drives with an eye in the mirror and it generally works.

I also don’t understand the need to get in one lane a mile early when an alternating “zipping” together of lanes just works and shortens the time to get past the obstacle for everyone. The problems I see in these situations is the offended drivers that have queued for a mile refusing to let anyone in and thus further slowing things down but again, we Brits love a queue.

Only reason I comment is I did a round trip to the U.K. across Europe during the heatwave/Dover chaos and with roadworks across the A4 saw it first hand. Only delay? 2 hours lost for no apparent reason on the M42.

Mainly because the continent isn't over run with Tw@ts like we are in this country. It's just the culture here now that when out on the road, it's obligatory to be an inconsiderate arsehole.

 

[Corradobrit]

while you get the occasional offender, lane discipline is very good and everyone drives with an eye in the mirror and it generally works.

Clearly you don't drive in Italy much.

 

[The Tall Luthier]

I think the 2 lanes into one “problem“ is a to do with the British passion for queuing! I tend to be in the 200metre lane to save the stress of trying to “push in”. Maybe it’s time for some of those old public information ads on TV?

When two lanes zip the traffic together we should remember that considerable costs were borne. The country paid for extra real estate, tarmac , road signage and road markings to put it there, they did this for a reason.

Often it is there as a store for cars to prevent them from congesting up an earlier part of the road network. So, you’re actually being more considerate by using it than choosing to queue instead.

 

[BeeBee]

Yep there are ‘highway code’ rules and regulations and they are sometimes open to interpretation but ‘chill out folks’ we bought our van as an enhancement to our life and try even harder to ignore the ever increasing number of ‘numpties’ on the road who fall into one of two categories ‘the boy racer’ who fantasises of formula one and fervently views Top Gear and ‘the trilby hat wearing grandpa’ driving the brown Allegro ( remember the feather in hat )
Tolerance and safety, enjoy the roads x

 

[ArunAlec]

When two lanes zip the traffic together we should remember that considerable costs were borne. The country paid for extra real estate, tarmac , road signage and road markings to put it there, they did this for a reason.

Often it is there as a store for cars to prevent them from congesting on an earlier part of the road network. So, you’re actually being more considerate by using it than choosing to queue instead.

Agree, we should grow up and “zip”, however trying to “educate” by filling the empty lane ends up being quite stressful and you are reliant on the other lane being sensible and “zipping”.
I wonder how long it’s going to take us to adopt/understand the latest changes to the law and Highway Code.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

Think i’ve been behind her.

 

[ArunAlec]

Think i’ve been behind her.

View attachment 97119

Turning into my road (a country lane off of 70mph duel carriageway) …. 5minutes isn’t enough! Following traffic seem unable to grasp the concept of indicating and braking means slowing and turning. My tactic is now to build up a big gap behind me before a rather hard brake and turn.

 

[The Tall Luthier]

I’ve been on a couple of speed awareness courses, they’re actually quite good. You learn a lot of things you never really knew about road design and efforts that councils make to get you to drive acceptably.

One thing that makes me chuckle is they ask everyone to rate themselves as a driver. All the men, cause it is always nearly men in need of re-education, deem theirselves as 8/10 or better. THEY’RE ON A SPEED AWARENESS COURSE!

 

[GrannyJen]

I’ve been on a couple of speed awareness courses, they’re actually quite good. You learn a lot of things you never really knew about road design and efforts that councils make to get you to drive acceptably.

One thing that makes me chuckle is they ask everyone to rate themselves as a driver. All the men, cause it is always nearly men in need of re-education, deem theirselves as 8/10 or better. THEY’RE ON A SPEED AWARENESS COURSE!

I went on one of those about 5 years ago. I felt a certain sense of shame at being there, I would never in a life of lifetimes profess to be a near perfect driver but awareness of speed limits and the need for them was something I always prided myself on and it was a case of how the (high and) mighty have fallen.

There were seven tables in the room and as we were led in we were asked to choose a table. By one of those things of gender gravitation the six women present sat on one table and it was all blokes on all the rest.

It was like being in parallel universes.Some on other tables really got it but for most it ranged from shows of bravado: disputing the need for a thirty limit in that place anyway, "I was perfectly safe even if I was doing 45 past a school," "how was I to know I was in a 30..... "

It was all getting very tedious until one on our table, the smallest quietest, grey hair, glasses and looking like someone from "Call the midwife", finally erupted at one particularly voluble loudmouth with "OH SHUT UP! We are all here for the same reason, you've done the crime now do the time. Put your dummy back in for goodness sake"....

Silence for the rest of the course.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

All done online these days using Microsoft Teams.